A pattern emerges, and I like it!

Not too long ago, we launched a series of online training videos called “The Virtual Boot Camp.” Basically, it’s 20+ courses covering just about everything you need to know in order to succeed in this wacky wonderful business.

While we can’t see what individuals are accessing, we do get some very interesting statistics. The pattern is clear, and it’s very encouraging.

Five of the courses in the series are exclusively focused on professional fees. Among new users, they are the first courses accessed. Among existing users, they are the most often repeated.

To be more specific, the one covering finances, pricing and packing is the single most repeated course of all. The number two most viewed AND repeated course is consulting skills followed by Facebook Fundamentals.

What does all this mean and why should you care?

If you are interested in fees but don’t know where to start, you aren’t alone. If you aren’t charging fees (for everything) yet, get ready for the coming wave.

If you still think consulting and selling are the same things, watch out, others now know the difference and it matters – a lot.

If you aren’t tapping into social media for marketing, beware, your competitors are.

These assumptions are not just based on stats from our website. Rather, they clarify and confirm what I’ve been seeing and hearing in the field for years now: the industry is reinventing itself all around us.

Travel agents are not just calling themselves CONSULTANTS; they are transforming their entire businesses from agencies into consultancies.

Professional fees are shifting the public perception of whom you really represent away from suppliers and to your clients.

Social media is no longer a tiny little add-on to marketing. For many, it now IS their marketing.

I’ll keep watching the stats, developing training and doing my best to keep an eye on tomorrow. For now, thanks for the encouragement.

Nolan Burris is an author, former travel agent, failed musician and self-professed techno-geek. He’s also a popular international speaker both inside and outside of the travel industry. He is the founder and chief Visioneer of Future Proof Travel Solutions (futureprooftravel.com) based in Vancouver, Canada. Nolan’s believes that if can change the way business works, you’ll change the world. His goal is to spread the message of integrity and ethics in a techno-driven world.